Tara Classen and Jackie Kivol are going to keep running every day until they can’t.
Come Dec. 1, Classen will have run every day for a year. For Kivol, it will be two years.
“There are times when you’re so tired and you think ‘This is the craziest thing, why am I doing this?’ But then you go for a run and you’re happy you did,” Kivol says. “I find I almost always feel better after.”
The Saskatoon friends started their run streaks as part of Brainsport’s annual December Run Streak, which challenged participants to run at least one mile every day for a month, regardless of weather, holiday parties, travel or other excuses. This year, everyone is challenged to do any type of physical activity for 20 continuous minutes.
Kivol, 51, started Dec. 1, 2019 with the goal of running 100 days in a row. But then she hit that target and kept going.
“Then I got to a year, and then it’s just hard to have a date to stop,” Kivol said. “What is a good milestone? I finally just decided I’m going to keep going until I can’t.”
Classen, 48, embarked on her streak the following year after seeing that Kivol was happy, healthy and injury-free after a year of running every day.
“I’ve never been consistent (in my running) and that’s always been an issue for me,” Classen says. “I feel so much better now that I’m running every day. Some runs are crappy and some runs are good, but that’s always how it’s been. And, for the most part, I feel better in general in my mental health and my physical health.”
On the busiest days, Classen and Kivol will log the minimum one mile, but most runs are much farther. “Once you get started, it’s hard to just do a mile sometimes,” Classen says.
Kivol’s longest run in the last two years was 50 kilometres, which she ran the day after her 50th birthday as a fundraiser for the Saskatoon Food Bank. Classen will often run 10 or more kilometres. The pair usually meet up on Sunday mornings for a relatively long run and sometimes connect with other running friends.
“It’s motivating if you have other people you can run with because it can get kind of monotonous on your own,” Kivol says. “The friendships and the camaraderie is a huge part of why we do this. It’s nice having a goal of going every day, but it’s the people that make it meaningful and motivating.”
Both Kivol and Classen say they’ve had to get creative to make their runs happen every day — once Kivol ran around an airport during a day of travel and another time she ran in jeans after her luggage was lost on a flight. Normally, Kivol tries to run before work or at lunch. Classen, who teaches physical education, can sometimes get a run in on the job. Both are pros at fitting runs into 30-to-60 minute windows while their kids are in various activities.
“When you have a routine, it’s good,” Kivol says. “It’s the days when you’re on holidays or you’re off your routine that you’ll be getting ready for bed and be like ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t do my day’s mile.’” When that happens, she delays bedtime to get a short run in on the treadmill.
One of the factors that has made the pair’s run streaks possible is the support from their families, who sometimes join them on runs.
“At about a year and a half I was at a point where I was like ‘I don’t know if I can keep doing this, I’m kind of tired’ and (my kids) didn’t want me to quit,” Kivol said. “I think for them it’s kind of inspiring and they said: ‘No, you can do it mom.’ So it’s nice to have that support.”
With Brainsport’s December Run Streak starting next week, Classen and Kivol encourage everyone who can to give it a shot. At its core, the challenge is about taking at least 15 minutes out of every day for yourself — “and that’s time well spent,” Kivol says.
“I can’t say enough about how good it made me feel,” Classen says. “I’m hoping that other people will take advantage of it too.”
Thinking of starting a December streak? Join the Brainsport December Streak Facebook group to connect with a community of other activity streakers.
Looking for more advice on how to keep a run streak going? Check out this advice from Saskatoon runner Brian Breit, who will celebrate the nine-year anniversary of his run streak on Dec. 1.
